Turkey is ready to send troops to Ukraine as part of a broader peacekeeping mission if necessary, a Turkish defence ministry source said.

"The issue of participating in a mission ... will be assessed together with all parties concerned if it is deemed necessary for the establishment of regional stability and peace," the source told AFP.

His comments came as European Union leaders meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels to look at ways to bolster both Ukraine's and Europe's defences after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kiev and intelligence sharing.

Paris and London have already expressed a willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure any future ceasefire is preserved, without saying what role those troops would play.

Bolstering European defence capabilities has taken on an acute urgency after Trump made clear his desire to quickly end the three-year war in Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow.

Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both its Black Sea neighbours since the Russian invasion three years ago and has twice hosted direct talks aimed at ending the war. | BGNES